Process of and attachment for building up broken or decayed teeth.



No. 659,206. Patented Oct. 9, I900. J. P. CARMICHAEL.

PROCESS OF AND ATTACHMENT FOB BUILDING UP BROKEN 0R DECAYED TEETH.

(Application filedg-Iune 9, 1899.)

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN PETER CARMIOHAEL, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

PROCESS OF AND ATTACHMENT FOR BUILDING UP BROKEN OR DECAYED TEETH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 659,206, dated October9, 1900.

Application filed June 9, 1899- Serial No. 719,994. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN PETER OARMI- CHAEL, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee andState of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements ina Process of Forming an Attachment for and Connecting the Same to aNatural Tooth; and Ido hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention has relation to improvements in a process of forming anattachment for and connecting the same to a natural tooth.

The primary object of the invention is to provide an improved processand construction wherein provision is made for forming an attachment andconnecting the same to a natural tooth, the said attachment being somolded and shaped to the part of the tooth to be covered and so fittedin the grooves of said tooth that it is mechanically held firm inposition upon the tooth and is adapted for building up any broken ordecayed portion of the tooth or is adapted to be connected withbridge-teeth, plates, regulating appliances, fillings, inlays, &c.

With the above primary object in view the invention consists of theprocess and its several steps or their equivalents and the attachment,as hereinafter set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a lateral elevation of atooth, showing the bottom groove and one of the side grooves. Fig. 2 isan end view of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing ametal base pressed into the grooves and also covering the inner portionof the crown of the tooth. Fig. 4 is a detail View of the wire staple.Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing the staple passed intothe grooves and engaging the base. Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional viewof the complete fastener before contouring and stiffening withalloy-gold. Fig. 7 is a view of a tooth with fastener complete andcemented in position thereto. Fig. 8 is a front view of Fig. 7. Fig. 9is a view of two fasteners complete and in connection with twobridge-teeth. -Fig. 10 is a front view of a tooth, showing an inlay ofporcelain or other desirable material which is supported by thefastener; and Fig. 11 is a detail view of a modified form of fastener inwhich the rib 8 is omitted.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 indicates the crown of anatural tooth. order to prepare this tooth to adapt it for my improvedprocess and attachment,1 out, grind, or drill one or more groovesrunning at parallel lines across the cutting edge of the tooth and upopposite sides of said tooth for a desired distance. The grooves inopposite sides of the crown of a tooth are indicated by the numerals 2 2and the connecting bottom groove by the numeral 3. The grooves 2 2 and 3are of sufficient depth to receive and retain a base 4, of metal orother suitable material, preferably a thin sheet of gold. This thinsheet is shaped to the back of the tooth 3. The portions of the basewhich are pressed into the side grooves form two side ribs 7, and theportion of the base which is pressed into the bottom groove forms abottom rib 8. This metallic base, it will be understood, is merely firstapplied to the tooth long enough to permit it to be shaped to theportion of the tooth to which it is applied and after being so shaped isremoved from the tooth and then serves as a pattern form for the makingof the complete attachment, said complete attachment being constructedby applying melted alloy-gold or soldering thereto and allowing it toharden. Fig. 6 shows a vertical section of the complete attachment soconstructed. Before the metallic base is removed, however, for thepurpose of forming the complete attachment it is advisably held firmlyto a tooth during the operation of shaping and contouring the pattern bymeans of a wire staple 5. (Shown in detail in Fig. 4 and also shownproperly applied to the base in Fig. 5.) This staple is designed to beremoved with the base, so as to stiffen said base and compel it toretain its shape. The staple, however, is not absolutely necessary, asthe base could be removed from the tooth without the staple and saidbase stifiened by placing pieces of clasp metal to control the solderingin effecting a uniform thickness.

When the complete attachment is made in the manner above pointed out, itis applied to the tooth and cemented thereto. In Fig.

and pressed into the grooves, as shown in Fig.

7 the com plete attachmentis shown as applied to the tooth, and thisparticular illustration of the application of the invention shows theback of the tooth built up and also the bottom of the cutting edge ofthe tooth built up flush with the lower projecting front prong of thecrown.

In Fig. 9 I show the application of my invcntion for bridgework. In thisfigure two of the complete attachments are shown, and between these twoattachments is secured an artificial bridge-tooth 9 by means of ametallic strap extending from one attachmentto the other and shown bydotted lines in said Fig. 9. One of the attachments is also providedwith a projecting strap, (also shown by dotted lines in Fig. 9,) and tothis strap is secured another artificial-bridge tooth 9. In applying thebridge shown in Fig. 9 the attachments are made to fit the natural toothand secured thereto in any desirable manner, and the artificial teethfill up spaces where the natural teeth have been drawn.

In Fig. 10 I show a front face view of a tooth in which an inlayofporcelain or other suitable material is supported by my attachment. In

this application of the invention I preferably use a double sheet of thematerial 4, which when brought forwardly over the end of the tooth formsa receptacle foran inlay orfilling material. By this arrangement nometal is exposed to view on the face of the tooth, but the porcelain orother inlay will be visible across the front face of the tooth andlaterally at one side. In this application of the invention theattachment is of such shape as to form a retainer for the inlay or othersuitable filling-material, and in this particular application of theinvention it is also very desirable to use the staple 5, allowing oneend of said staple to project into the cavity of the tooth to serve as aretainer for the porcelain or other inlaying material. While theparticular U-shaped form of the staple is preferable, yet merely pinscould be placed in the cavities and covered by the alloy-covering.

In the construction of my attachment it is not absolutely necessary thatthe transverse connecting-rib 8 should be employed in order to hold themetallic base, as well as the attachment subsequently made therefrom, tothe tooth. I have therefore in Fig. 11 illustrated the attachment withthis connectingrib 8 omitted.

It is also not absolutely necessary that the attachment should beprovided with the back piece shown in the several fign res of thedrawings, as the attachment could merely be provided with a transverseportion adapted to fit across the end of the natural tooth and alsoprovided with side ribs adapted to fit and engage side grooves in thetooth and successful results obtained.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the base 4 is somolded and shaped to the part of the tooth to be covered and so fittedto the grooves of said tooth that it is mechanically held firm inposition upon the tooth to which it has been fitted ready to beconnected with bridge-teeth, plates, regulating appliances, fillings,inlays, &c. When the attach ment is adjusted as described, it fits thetooth so closely that when cemented in position it will preserve thepart of the tooth which it covers, excluding all moisture, &c., andthereby preventing decay.

By my improved attachment I am able to provide a very strong andserviceable fastening which can he applied to many purposes indentistry, and thus do away with the placing of gold bands about theteeth and covering the teeth with gold caps, which is not onlyconsidered in bad taste, but is also regarded injurious to the teeth andgums.

What I claim as my invention is 1. A process of forming an attachmentfor and connecting the same to a natural tooth, which consists incutting, grinding, or drilling one or more grooves in a natural tooth;shaping and fitting a base of suitable material to the tooth, and to thegroove or grooves in said tooth, and thereby conforming the base to theshape of the portion of the tooth to which it is applied, and alsoforming a rib or ribs in the base; removing the base from the tooth;next stiffening and building up the base with a suitable material; andfinally applying the complete attachment to the tooth and cementing orotherwise securing said attachment to the tooth.

2. A process of forming an attachment for and connecting the same to anatural tooth, which consists in cutting, grinding, or drilling groovesin a natural tooth; shaping and fitting a base of suitable material tothe tooth and to the grooves in said tooth, and thereby conforming thebase to the shape of the portion of the tooth to which it is applied,and also forming ribs in the base by pressing said base into thegrooves; applying a staple to the base during the operation of shapingand contouring; removing the base, together with the staple from thetooth; next stiffening and building up the base with a suitablematerial; and finally applying the complete attachment to the tooth, andcementing or other wise securing said attachment to the tooth.

3. An attachment for natural teeth, consisting of a base or innerportion of suitable material provided with a transverse portion adaptedto fit across the end of a natural tooth, and also provided with sideribs adapted to engage and fit side grooves or corrugations in saidtooth, an outer portion covering the base or inner portion, and aU-shaped retaining device disposed between the inner and outer portions,and adapted to engage the side grooves or corrugations of the tooth.

4. An attachment for natural teeth, consisting of a base or innerportion and an outer portion covering the inner portion, the saidattachment provided with a back member, a bottom member, and sidemembers, the back member fitting around the back of the tooth,

the bottom member fitting across the end of the tooth, and the sidemembers fitting the approximate side edges of the tooth, said bottommember provided with a transverse rib adapted to fit a transverse groovein the end of the tooth, and the side members provided with verticalribs adapted to fit vertical grooves in the approximate side edges ofthe tooth.

5. An attachment for natural teeth, consisting of a base or innerportion shaped to fit the natural tooth, and provided with a rib or ribsadapted to fit a groove or grooves formed in said tooth, and an outerportion covering the base or inner portion.

6. The combination with a natural tooth having a groove or grooves inits outer lateral side edge or edges, of an attachment conform- JOHNPETER OARMIOHAEL.

Witnesses:

JAMES A. SHERIDAN, GUSTAV WOLLAEGUP.

